We ride our trusty bicycles most weekends. This blog charts our adventures and records our thoughts as we ride through the rural lanes of Surrey and Northern Kent – and there's some world travel thrown in too

Sunday, 11 November 2012

Remembrance Sunday 2012: to Westerham

Churchill on Remembrance Sunday 2012. Wearing a hat for some reason

Remembrance Sunday to be precise as many signs pointed out en route. Saturday had been a complete wash-out but, as predicted by the weathermen, Sunday was lovely. Not a cloud in the sky and the sun was shining, but it wasn't warm. In fact, when out of the sun it was cold, but bearable cold.

We opted for flapjacks rather than the Full English

We met at the Green at 0730hrs and noted that somebody – the council – had been busy tending the flowerbeds and mowing the lawns.

There were a few riders out and some runners and, as we headed out onto the B269, beyond the bus stop that signifies the end of the climb from Knight's Garden Centre, we saw low mists in the valley.

We'd decided to aim for Westerham, having not been there for a while and, if we're honest, we were getting a little fed up with the Tatsfield Bus Stop, which has played host for the last few weeks. The fact that we hadn't gone riding at all last week also meant that a longer ride was needed to balance the books.

When we got there, Churchill was wearing a hat and there was a lot of dew on the benches, so we stood up to drink our tea. I'd suggested the Tudor Tea Rooms, which was open for breakfast (now, that's pretty good considering it was Sunday) and there was a brief flirtation with a Full English, but having made (and carried) the flask of hot water all the way from Sanderstead, we decided to drink our own tea. And besides, Andy had the cereal bars too and my initial thought was powered by the closeness of a cashpoint machine – until I realised that I didn't have my cards on me.

In the end Andy stumped up for two flapjacks (giving me an excuse to 'use the facilities') and we munched them in the sun, watching a rather nice Harley Davidson park up. Our 'bike shop' was still up for rent, ever since Barclays vacated the premises some months ago (you'll find reference to this in past posts).

Andy just prior to heading home

Suitably refreshed, we packed up our stuff and headed for home, up Westerham Hill, past the Tatsfield Bus Stop and down the B269. Andy branched off on the track halfway along and I carried on towards the green, then the Limpsfield Road and home. I got back around 1015hrs.

Later in the day I took the family to Kingston for a wander around town. We bought some Cath Kidson mugs and came home. Very busy in Kingston and the car parks cost a fortune, but it's a nice enough place. We went down to the river, bought some wine for evening meal and then watched the Strictly Come Dancing results show.

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